Display system with normalized show lighting for wavelength multiplex visualization (wmv) environment

ABSTRACT

A display system for illuminating surfaces of objects in a ride or show set for viewing by a viewer in a viewing space wearing three-dimensional (3D) glasses or headgear. The 3D glasses or headgear is adapted to pass or transmit light associated with a first set of three wavelengths to a left eye and to pass or transmit light with a second set of three wavelengths differing from the first set of three wavelengths. Each of these wavelengths may be associated with a primary color wavelength for providing left and right eye content to a viewer. The system, therefore, may include a wavelength multiplex visualization (WMV) projection system projecting light having the first and second sets of three wavelengths to provide the viewer stereo content via the 3D glasses or headgear.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Description

The present description relates, in general, to three dimensional (3D)projection and display technology including 3D glasses or stereo glassesworn by viewers to perceive 3D imagery, and, more particularly, to 3Dstereo display systems that are adapted for creating 3D effects orimagery with 3D content or media but without the need for conventional3D projectors.

2. Relevant Background

Recently, there has been an increased interest in providing movies andother image-based content to viewers in 3D form, and there has beensignificant research in the past on technologies to produce 3D imagery.Most 3D technologies require the viewers to wear 3D glasses (or otherheadgear or other filters, which will be labeled “3D glasses” herein)such that left eye images are received by their left eye and right eyeimages are received by their right eyes. The combination of these rightand left eye images are perceived by the viewers as 3D images or imagery(or stereo images), and 3D projection and display technology is used tocreate a stereo media environment for viewers including people in apassenger vehicle on an amusement park ride (e.g., a dark rideexperience or the like).

Polarization and wavelength multiplex visualization (“WMV”) are two maintypes of 3D technologies that are in widespread use in cinemaapplications and in other entertainment venues including amusement ortheme parks (e.g., in 3D rides, 3D displays, and other parkattractions). In each of these 3D technologies or systems, the displaysor projection systems have relied upon or targeted raster-based displayssuch as video projection, film, displays, and the like.

With polarized technology, the viewer wears low-cost eyeglasses thatcontain a pair of different polarizing filters. Each of the viewer'seyes sees a different image (e.g., a right eye image and a left eyeimage that were provided by two cameras spaced apart the intraoculardistance) because the filters pass only light having a particularpolarization (i.e., matching the eyeglass filter) and block the lightpolarized differently (e.g., in the other polarization direction).Polarized technologies (linear and/or circular) are used to produce a 3Deffect by projecting or displaying the same scene for viewing by botheyes, with the scene being depicted from slightly different offsets tocreate the necessary parallax to provide a 3D image. Use of thistechnology has the advantages of low cost glasses but is inefficientwith light causing loss of brightness and requires a silvered screen tomaintain polarization.

Due to these and other disadvantages with such 3D technologies, therehas been increased interest in the use of wavelength multiplexvisualization (also known as interference filters or comb filters andgenerally labeled “WMV” or “WMV technology” herein). WMV technology isbased on a system of color. The specific color frequencies (e.g.,left-eye RGB frequencies and right-eye RGB frequencies) utilized in eachtechnology (or by each company's WMV products) is typically based on thespecific delivery system and other parameters and company-specificgoals.

Presently, there are several types of WMV technology used to provide 3Ddisplays. In the first exemplary type of WMV technology-based 3Dsystems, a single projector is used that can project both left and righteye images using an alternate color wheel placed in the projector. Thecolor wheel contains one more set of red, green, and blue filters inaddition to the red, green, and blue filters found on a typical colorwheel. The additional sets of three filters are able to produce the samecolor gamut as the original three filters but transmit light atdifferent wavelengths. 3D glasses with complimentary dichroic filters inthe lenses are worn by a viewer that filter out either one or the otherset of the three light wavelengths. In this way one projector candisplay the left and right stereoscopic images simultaneously, e.g., bya stereoscopic projection process that is labeled herein as a first typeof wavelength multiplex visualization or WMV (or is categorized as oneform of wavelength multiplex visualization that may also be considered anarrowband-based WMV or a WMV implementing one or more narrowband sourceof illuminating light paired with 3D stereo glasses worn by a viewer toproperly filter light from these sources).

A second exemplary type of WMV-based 3D system is built on afiber-coupled, 6-primary projection system architecture rather thanfiltered or polarized broad-spectrum white light. In some systems usingthis second type of WMV, 6-Primary (“6P”) laser projectors employ setsof red, green, and blue (RGB) laser lights, e.g., with one set being forthe left eye and one, with slightly different wavelengths, for the righteye, which is why this second type of WMV-based 3D system is consideredto employ or provide wavelength multiplex visualization. The “recipe” ofwavelengths used may vary to achieve this second type of WMV-based 3Dprojection and for use in 3D glasses, with one exemplary system using afirst or left laser projector providing light (red, green, and blue) atwavelengths of 465 nanometers (nm), 547 nm, and 657 nm and a second orright laser projector at 445 nm, 525 nm, and 637 nm. The viewer wears 3Dglasses in these systems that filter out the different wavelengths anddirect the colored light at the recipe-defined wavelengths to theintended eye. This second type of WMV may be thought of as primary orcolored laser projector-based WMV.

There are a number of advantages associated with these systemsincluding: effectiveness with light as almost 90 percent of the lightfrom the projector makes it to the viewer's eye; no requirement for asilvered screen and can be both rear and front projected on nearly anysurface; viewable from multiple points of view with no hot spot and withuniform brightness without regard to a viewer's point of view; useful inapplications where a viewer may tilt or move their head; and a broadcolor gamut. As with the first type of WMV system, the stereo glassesfor this second type of WMV system are expensive, and the light moduleand other projection components are also relatively expensive.

An ongoing challenge for many applications is how to integrate 3Dprojection or display systems in larger facilities rather than in themore contained theater setting. For example, many amusement parksinclude 3D theaters with long queues and 3D ride systems that nowutilize wavelength multiplex visualization (“WMV”) technology such thatvisitors (or “viewers”) are now wearing stereo glasses adapted for usewith such technologies rather than polarized glasses. These projectionsystems work through the realization that all humans see all colorsusing only the three color sensors in the eye for red, green, and blue.All other colors are synthesized by humans from mixtures of these threefundamental colors. As discussed above, for example, the first type ofWMV system functions by splitting the red, green, and blue images to bedisplayed/projected into two narrow wavelength bands, e.g., Red1,Green1, and Blue1 (or RGB1) and Red2, Green2, and Blue2 (or RGB2). Then,for a left stereo image, the projector (or projectors if two are used)may project light with the wavelength bands for RGB1 and, for a rightstereo image, the projector may project light with the wavelength bandsfor RGB2. The color separation is done with very narrowband colorfilters or lenses provided in the stereo glasses (e.g., with threefilters overlaid for each of the viewer's eyes) such that the lens overthe left eye only passes the RGB1 light or images while the lens overthe right eye only passes the RGB2 light or images.

Projectors for systems employing wavelength multiplex visualization,which in combination may be considered conventional WMV projectors (orsimply WMV projectors), narrowband multiplexing projectors, and thelike, are expensive such that their use is generally limited tolarge-scale theatrical experiences. However, in amusement park rides andsome theater settings, the viewers may be offered and be wearing the 3Dstereo glasses designed for these systems outside of the theater orprojection space. For example, a 3D-based ride may include one or moretheater-type portions where a WMV projector(s) is used to project 3Dimages viewable by the ride participants. However, the ride participantswill be wearing the 3D stereo glasses in other portions of the ride,which may be 50 to 90 percent of the length of the ride, where there isno 3D imagery being projected. One solution would be to provide the WMVprojectors along the entire length of the ride, but this solution istypically discarded as being prohibitively expensive.

Hence, there remains a need for display systems and methods forproviding 3D imagery to viewers such as in locations or spaces inside,nearby, and even outside of a conventional 3D theater setting (e.g., inthe queue to or from the theater) and inside or even outside of portionsof a ride configured for 3D projection (e.g., a dark ride using 3Dprojection along one or more portions of the ride path).

SUMMARY

The inventors recognized that presently there are many situations whereparticipants in 3D entertainment activities, such as a 3D theater, a3D-based dark ride, and the like, are wearing 3D stereo glasses whilethey are in spaces where no 3D imagery is being projected. Further, theinventors recognized there are a number of types of wavelength multiplexvisualization (WMV) technologies provided by companies that produceprojection systems for distribution and/or license the technology toothers for implementations. These companies and/or their licenseesdifferentiate their products from other WMV products by varying theindividual wavelengths for the RGB bandwidths (e.g., providing differingtypes of WMV technologies). The wavelength “prescriptions” may also varybased on the type of light source used in the system, e.g., use of amercury lamp, a xenon lamp, or a laser-based delivery system may alldrive how the prescription or formula of left and right-eye wavelengthsis designed or generated even though each generally can be said to useWMV technology. The inventors also understood that extinction can occurwith the use of WMV technologies where wavelengths for the right eye (orleft eye) are completely extinct in the left eye (or right eye), andthis issue can be addressed to improve quality of a displayed 3D image.

In a particularly relevant example, a 3D ride may utilize a type ofwavelength multiplex visualization (WMV) technology (e.g., Dolby 3D,Christie 6P, or other wavelength multiplex visualization technologiespresently utilized or yet to be developed), and the riders wear their 3Dstereo glasses or 3D glasses for WMV systems (suited for the particulartechnology and its wavelengths) throughout the ride even thoughWMV-based 3D projectors are only provided in one to several locationsalong the ride (e.g., for 10 percent or less of the ride length). It wasunderstood that it would be useful to provide display systems in spaceswhere viewers are wearing wavelength multiplex visualization glasses(e.g., WMV-based glasses and all such glasses referred to herein as “3Dstereo glasses” or “3D glasses” or “WMV glasses”), and these displaysystems should be configured to provide 3D imagery without the need foran expensive 3D projector or conventional WMV projector.

More particularly, a display system is provided for illuminatingsurfaces of objects for viewing by a viewer in a viewing space wearing3D glasses or headgear, which is adapted to pass or transmit lightassociated with a first set of three wavelengths to a left eye and topass or transmit light with a second set of three wavelengths differingfrom the first set of three wavelengths. Each of these wavelengths maybe associated with a primary color wavelength for providing left andright eye content to a viewer. The system, therefore, may include awavelength multiplex visualization (WMV) projection system projectinglight having the first and second sets of three wavelengths to providethe viewer stereo content via the 3D glasses or headgear.

Further, though, the display system includes a WMV light sourceproviding colored light for illuminating the surfaces of the objects forthe viewer to observe through the 3D glasses or headgear. The outputcolored light typically will be light at a wavelength matching one ormore wavelength in the first and second sets of three wavelengths (e.g.,to provide red, green, and/or blue light to one or both of the viewer'seyes through their 3D glasses or headgear). In some implementations, theWMV light source or fixture includes six light emitting diode (LED)emitters each operable to provide light at a differing one of the firstand second sets of three wavelengths (e.g., a red LED emitter, a greenLED emitter, and a blue LED emitter in each set). The WMV light sourcemay further include a controller providing control signals toindependently operate each of the LED emitters. In such cases, thecontroller can operate the WMV light source to selectively operate theLED emitters to provide light associated with only one of the first setof three wavelengths and the second set of three wavelengths.

The light source may be configured with a left eye array of three of thesix LED emitters providing left eye light at the first set of threewavelengths and with a right eye array of three of the six LED emittersproviding right eye light at the second set of three wavelengths. Duringoperations of the WMV light source, the first eye light and the secondeye light may be balanced so as to include equal levels of red light,equal levels of green light, and equal levels blue light, whereby eachof the viewer's eyes receives/perceives equal color values orillumination levels/amounts in each eye. In some cases, the levels ofthe red light differ from at least one of the levels of the green lightand levels of the blue light (e.g., the colors are not necessarilyilluminated equally during operations of the WMV light source).

In some embodiments, the WMV light source further includes a filter(e.g., a dichroic filter or a comb filter) associated with each of thesix LEDs filtering the light provided by the LEDs to only output lightat a wavelength matching one of the first and second sets of threewavelengths. In the same or other embodiments, the wavelength matchingone or more wavelength in the first and second sets of three wavelengthscould fall in a range of plus or minus 2 nanometers from one of thefirst and second sets of three wavelengths. In this way, “matching” isnot limited to a specific wavelength but, instead, light with a matchingwavelength can be provided in a range of wavelengths that includes oneof the wavelengths defined for the particular type of WMV technology(e.g., to match the light output by the WMV projection system and passedby corresponding 3D glasses).

In other cases, a single full spectrum LED or lamp may be used behindfinely-tuned notch filters (described herein) instead of RGB LEDs of thered bandwidth, green bandwidth, or blue bandwidth. The full spectrumlight source would produce light with all the colors in it that areavailable and/or can be filtered out to achieve a desired result.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram or functional block diagram of an amusement parkride with a 3D display system of the present description showing use ofa WMV light source or fixture to provide normalized or balanced showlighting for a physical set for viewing by a viewer wearing WMV-based 3Dglasses;

FIG. 2 illustrates flow diagram of a control algorithm or process thatmay be carried out by a controller of a 3D display system to operate aWMV light source to achieve a desired display or special effect;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an operating WMV light sourcewith two arrays of three LED emitters or bulbs (i.e., two sets of RGBLED emitters or bulbs);

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate the WMV light source of FIG. 3 in threeadditional operating states (e.g., in response to control signals from acontroller such as the one shown in FIG. 1); and

FIG. 5 illustrates a functional block or schematic drawing of another 3Ddisplay system of the present description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The inventors recognized that more and more amusement park attractionssuch as dark rides are being developed and implemented that use stereoprojection to deliver show scenic and story content. The stereo or 3Dprojection is typically one of the two types of wavelength multiplexingvisualization (WMV) technology discussed above in the background, andthese two types of WMV technology are based on a comb filter technology(e.g., the WMV technology developed by Infitec). The WMV or 3Dtechnology is based on a principle of a left eye and a right eye systemof light. The left eye of each viewer receives three narrow-bandspecific, primary red-green-blue wavelengths while the right eyereceives three different narrow-band specific, primary red-green-bluewavelengths.

The projection system (regardless of which WMV or light enginetechnology (laser or lamp) is used) delivers the left eye/right eyemedia content onto a projection surface (front or rear projectionsurface). The viewer wears special WMV-based 3D glasses (e.g., combfilter glasses suited to the particular recipe of wavelengths used bythe WMV or 3D projector(s)) that transmit the information (i.e., light)selectively to the left and right eyes. In this way, any light producedby the WMV projector(s) is part of the 3D display system along with thematching WMV-based 3D glasses so that the projected light works with the3D glasses (is viewable when transmitted from the projection surface tothe viewer or into a viewing space). For example, a typical dark ride inan amusement park may have one, two, or more sections in which 3Dprojectors are provided to project content onto projection surfaces andentertain riders in a passenger vehicle that are each wearing thematching WMV-based 3D glasses with 3D or stereo environment or display.

One problem this creates for dark ride and 3D attraction designers isthat it is undesirable to request or force the viewers to put the 3Dglasses on and then take them off in a repeated manner throughout theride experience or in various portions of an attraction. This is asignificant problem as areas outside the range of the 3D projector(s) orwhere there are no special projector surfaces are still viewed throughthe 3D glasses by the viewers but the lighting is not suited for the 3Dglasses. In other words, current methods of providing show or ridelighting for the rest of the show/attraction or other lengths of theride path in a dark ride or other 3D ride are not part of the 3D displaysystem and are not designed to work with the WMV-based 3D glasses.

The inventors recognized that the amusement park industry and otherindustries are moving towards the use of RGB (red, green, and blue) LEDs(light emitting diodes) for lighting emitters to light environmentsincluding attraction and dark ride sets. This is being driven by anumber of factors including: (1) LEDs produce less heat, which lowersthe cost of cooling-based electric bills; (2) LEDs are long lived sothere is fewer lamp changes; (3) LEDs use less electricity to providesimilar lighting levels; and (4) LEDs can have a much smaller formfactor that allows them to be fit into tight spaces. Further, though,the inventors understood that LEDs are color adjustable, such as bydigital multiplex (DMX) control instead of with dichroic filters of gelsas used with prior lights/lamps, and the inventors determined that suchcontrol can be used to match the “recipe” of any particular WMVtechnology used in a 3D display system to illuminate the environment (orportions of a set or the like) for viewing through WMV-based 3D glasses.In a conventional LED lighting fixture the lighting is based on usingthree primary colored LEDs in an array to produce many colors (e.g., upto 16 million different colors).

The issue recognized by the inventors with such conventional LEDfixtures is that the LEDs are not tuned to the same wavelengths as usedby WMV projectors in nearby 3D theaters or portions of a ride (e.g., inother parts of the environment or space illuminated by a 3D displaysystem). In other words, conventional LED fixtures do not include LEDsat the same primary center points as any of the various types of WMVtechnology discussed above (e.g., do not match the recipe of wavelengthsof a particular company producing, distributing, or licensing a type ofWMV technology and their projectors or projection technology). Forexample, each manufacturer of WMV-based 3D projectors (and matching 3Dglasses) may use a slightly different set of primaries (or wavelengthsettings for red, green, and blue light sources).

Hence, when a set or environment is viewed through WMV-based 3D glasses,the result of the display is dependent upon which LED lighting fixturefrom a given LED manufacturer one uses to illuminate the set orenvironment, with each conventional LED lighting fixture typicallyproviding a different, undesirable artifact. For example, the variousilluminated objects of 3D show element, which are not being projectedupon by a WMV projector but lit by LED lighting fixtures, do not blendwell together as WMV-based 3D glasses may filter out a significantamount of the light provided by the non-tuned LED lighting fixture. Thismay result in incorrect coloring such as by filtering out all orportions of the red light while passing some portions of the green andblue light. One will understand that this is an undesirable result, andthe 3D display systems described herein are configured to better blendthe physical environment being illuminated by the 3D display system (notprojected upon by a WMV projector in most cases) to the WMV projectionsystem's recipe or set of wavelengths. This allows the viewer wearingthe WMV-based 3D glasses to more readily believe that the 3D mediacontent that is projected and experiences is part of the physicalenvironment.

Briefly, a 3D display system is described that includes at least one WMVlight source that is controlled and/or configured to be tuned (orselectively tunable) to match a WMV projector(s) (or projection system)and corresponding WMV-based glasses that may be worn by viewers ofobjects illuminated by the WMV light source. The WMV light source, forexample, may include first and second arrays or sets of red, green, andblue LEDs so as to provide light for illuminating surfaces of a physicalenvironment (e.g., a show or dark ride set) with light that is visibleby the left and right eyes of the glass-wearing viewers. To this end, itis desirable for light from the first array of RGB LEDs to betransmitted or passed through the left eye filter and for light from thesecond array of RGB LEDs to be transmitted or passed through the righteye filter.

With this goal in mind, the WMV light source includes LEDs that aretuned (or selectively tunable) to match (or be within an acceptablewavelength range about) the six primary RGB wavelengths in a given WMVprojection system (e.g., the WMV projection system used in the displaysystem to project stereo content). Significantly, such tuning of thewavelengths of light output by WMV light source (which may use othercomponents than LEDs as discussed below) assures that the colors createdby the WMV light source work with the WMV-based 3D glasses used to viewthe stereo content projected on a projection surface by the WMVprojection system. The viewer sees colors and lighting through theirWMV-based 3D glasses as they do in the projected media or stereocontent. In the LED exemplary implementation of a WMV light source, acontroller may be provided to control the output wavelength of each ofthe LEDs (that may be thought of as primary left eye RGB wavelength LEDsand primary right eye RGB wavelength LEDs) to produce a normalizedlighting or to mix colors to produce desirable stereo artifacts andspecial effects viewable through the WMV-based 3D glasses.

FIG. 1 is a diagram or functional block diagram of an amusement parkride 100 with a 3D display system 120 of the present description showinguse of a WMV light source or fixture 150 to provide normalized orbalanced show lighting 152 for a physical set for viewing by a viewer108 wearing WMV-based 3D glasses 110. In other cases, though, the 3Ddisplay system 120 may be utilized in an attraction or show in which theviewer 108 is seated, standing, walking through, or otherwise in theviewing space 102. As shown, the ride 100 includes a ride track 104 anda passenger vehicle 106 is caused to move as shown in arrow 107 along aride path defined by the ride track 104, which causes the vehicle 106 topass through a ride viewing space 102.

More specifically, the passenger vehicle 106 passes by a projectionscreen 134 in the 3D display system 120 and by a physical or show set(or 3D environment) 140 with a number of set objects 142 each with oneor more surfaces 144 (2D or 3D surfaces). The 3D display system 120includes a WMV-based 3D projection system 130 operating to providestereo content by projecting light 132 onto the projection screen 134(rear or front projection screen). From the screen 134, light 136 isreflected (or transmitted if rear projection is used) toward the viewer108 in the passenger vehicle 106. The WMV-based 3D projection system 130is adapted, such as with one or two (or more) WMV projectors, to projectthe light 132 with a predefined set of six primary color (or RGB)wavelengths (e.g., the WMV “recipe” with three wavelengths used toprovide left eye light and three wavelengths used to provide right eyelight) such as left eye light with wavelengths of 465 nm, 547 nm, and657 nm and right eight light with wavelengths of 445 nm, 525 nm, and 637nm.

In the projected light 132, the left eye wavelengths differ from theright eye wavelengths, and the 3D display system 120 includes a pair ofWMV-based 3D glasses (or filters) 110. In the glasses 110, a left lens112 is provided that filters (e.g., a comb filter) all light except theleft eye wavelengths of the WMV-based 3D projection system 130 and aright lens 114 is included that filters all light except the right eyewavelengths of the WMV-based 3D projection system 130. In this manner,the output light 132 (left and right eye light) from the 3D projectionsystem 130 is used to produce stereo content viewable via light 136(first reflected light or media reflected light) from the projectionscreen 134 that is selectively passed through the lenses 112, 114 to theviewer's left and right eyes.

The 3D display system 120 also includes the physical set or show space140 with a number (one or more) of objects 142 (e.g., 2D or 3D itemsthemed to the ride 100 or an attraction) that each has one or moresurfaces 144 facing outward toward the track 104 and passing vehicle106. As discussed above, it is desirable to illuminate the surfaces 144of the objects 142 with light that is normalized or balanced to displaydesired colors without artifacts when viewed by the viewer 108 throughthe WMV 3D glasses 110. If conventional light is used, the primarycolors may be provided with wavelengths that will be undesirablefiltered out by the lenses 112, 114, which can result in a strange,viewer-detectable color imbalance such as with too much green in oneeye, no red in one or both eyes, and so on.

To overcome this problem, the 3D display system 120 includes a WMV lightsource (or controlled-wavelength light source) 150 that is operated bythe controller 160 via control signals 178 to output shot or setlighting 152 that is tuned or matched to the projected light 132 suchthat the light 156 reflected from the surfaces 144 of the objects 142 isviewable as desired by the viewer 108 via the WMV-based 3D glasses 110.For example (but not as a limitation), the WMV light source or fixture150 may include an array of three RGB LED light emitters to provide lefteye light and an array of three RGB LED light emitters to provide righteye light, and the left and right eye light may be combined to providethe show/set light 152. Each of the RGB LEDs can be tuned to providelight at a wavelength that matches (identically or with a range thatincludes) one of the predefined wavelengths of light provided in theprojected light 132 projected by the WMV-based 3D projection system. Forexample, a green LED light emitter in the left eye array of the WMVlight source may be tuned to provide light at a wavelength matching thatof the left eye green light provided by the WMV-based 3D projection suchthat the viewer's left eye will receive this green light 156 reflectedfrom the surfaces 144 of the objects 142 via the left eye lens 112.

The 3D display system 120 includes a controller 160 for generating thecontrol signals 178 to control (e.g., tune and/or selectively operateover time) the WMV light source 150. The controller 160 may take manyforms to practice the 3D display system 120 such as a computing orelectronic device with one or more processors 162 executing code orsoftware in memory (or computer readable media) 172 to perform certainfunctions. For example, the controller 160 may include programs/code toprovide a WMV source tuner/operator 170 to generate the control signals178, which may be transmitted in a wired or wireless manner to the WMVlight source 150 via input/output devices 164 operated by the processor162. In this manner, DMX control may be provided by the controller 160for the WMV light source 150 to generate the normalized/balancedshow/set light 152.

The memory 172 may be used to store a set of wavelengths 174 definingthe recipe used by the WMV-based 3D projection system 130 in providingstereo content with its projected light 132. Particularly, the WMV RGBwavelengths 174 may define the red, green, and blue wavelengths used forleft eye light and the differing red, green, and blue wavelengths usedfor right eye light by the system 130 (and not blocked by or transmittedby the filters/lenses 112, 114, respectively). The WMV sourcetuner/operator 170 may access the WMV RGB wavelengths 174 and use theseto tune/operate the light source 150 to provide the light 152 with each(or a subset) of the wavelengths 174 to match the projected light 132.

For example, in an LED fixture implementation, RGB emitters in a lefteye array would be tuned to provide light 152 at the left eye RGBfrequencies and RGB emitters in a right eye array would be tuned viacontrol signals 178 to provide light 152 at the right eye RGBfrequencies defined for a particular WMV (e.g., a particular WMVprojector in the system 130 and a particular set of filters provided inthe glasses 110). The “tuning” or “matching” may be performed to exactlymatch the WMV such as when the left eye green is provided at awavelength of 547 nm the WMV light source 150 may be operated to provideleft eye green also at a wavelength of 547 nm. In other cases, though, asmall range of wavelengths may be provided such as plus or minus 1 to 3nm about a primary or defined WMV wavelength so as to account formanufacturing tolerances and changes in the operation of components ofthe light source 150 over time.

An operator may use the I/O 164 (e.g., a touchscreen with a GUIgenerated by the tuner/operator 170) to provide user input to cause theWMV source tuner/generator 170 to create the signals 178 to achieve avariety of results or variety of show/set light 152. Also, in some 3Ddisplay systems 120 there may be no controller 160 with the WMV lightsource 150 configured to provide light with wavelengths matching theprimary RGB wavelengths of the WMV-based 3D projection system 130whenever powered on to provide the light 152. When included, thecontroller 160 with the tuner/operator 170 may operate to provide one ormore of the special effects or outcomes: (a) no light 152 such as whenonly the stereo content is provided with light 132 from 3D projectionsystem 130; (b) provide light 152 with a balanced amount or level oflight over the viewer's left and right eyes (transmitted through theleft and right lenses 112, 114 of 3D glasses 110) by providing equallevels/amounts of left and right eye RGBs; (c) provide light 152 withall right or left eye RGB frequencies (i.e., all right eye light or lefteye light at differing times of operation); and (d) provide light 152(right and left eye light) with differing amounts (including no light)from each of the components providing RGB light for left eye or righteye viewing.

With regard, to operating state (b), for example, the light source 150may include a left eye array with three LEDs and a right eye array withthree LEDs, and the LEDs in each array may be operated to produce lightof a wavelength matching the RGB wavelengths of left eye and right eyelight in the WMV-based 3D projection system 130 (as defined inwavelength definitions 174). Each of the LEDs or LED emitters of eacharray would be selected to have (or be controlled to provide) equallight levels (e.g., at substantially equal lumens or within a predefinedrange of lumens) to provide desired balancing of reds, greens, and bluesand right and left eye light in the reflected light 156 (secondreflected light or show lighting reflected light) from the surfaces 144of the set objects 142.

With regard to operating state (c), the light source components used toprovide left and right eye light in the show/set light 152 may be turnedon or off over time while the vehicle 106 is moving 107 past thephysical set 140 so as to achieve a desired lighting effect (e.g.,present light to one eye, to a different eye, and to both eyes overtime). With the controller 160 and DMX control with signals 178, oneskilled in the art will readily understand that there are nearlylimitless visual effects that can be achieved with the use of the WMVlight source 150 with the WMV-based 3D projection system 130 and viewers108 wearing matching WMV-based 3D glasses, with the aboveeffects/outcomes only being exemplary.

FIG. 2 illustrates flow diagram of a control algorithm or process 200that may be carried out by a controller of a 3D display system (such asthe 3D display system 120 of FIG. 1) to operate a WMV light source toachieve a desired display or special effect. The control process 200starts at 205 such as with designing and/or selecting a WMV light sourcefor use within a 3D display system. The WMV light source is selected tobe operable in a controlled manner (or fixed in some cases) to produceeach of the primary RGB colors provided by a WMV projector(s) in the 3Ddisplay system. For example, the light source may include first andsecond sets of RGB LEDs, and each of these LEDs or LED emitters ischosen to be operable (such as with DMX control) to output light at thesix primary RGB color wavelengths provided by the WMV-based projector(s)(with an exact match or with a “tight” band about the primary wavelengthsuch as plus or minus 1 to 3 nm or the like to limit undesirableartifacts).

The method 200 continues at 210 with the controller and/or the WMVsource tuner/operator program acting to retrieve (or access from aremote device) the definition of the RGB wavelengths for the WMV-basedprojection system to be used in the 3D display system. As discussedabove, there are various types of WMV technologies that may be used toprovide a projection system (with one or more projectors) and each mayuse a different recipe or set of wavelengths defining RGB primary colorsfor left eye light and for right eye light (which will differ so as toallow different filters to be used in eye or headwear to selectivelyfilter/deliver the left and right eye light from a projectionscreen/surface).

Then, the method 200 continues at 220 with a determination of whether ornot user input has been provided (such as via a controller-provided GUIor the like) to choose an operating mode for the WMV light source. Ifnot, the method 200 continues at 230 with the controller operating withcontrol signals the WMV light source in a default manner. In the exampleprovided in FIG. 2, the controller operates the WMV light source toprovide equal levels of the three colors to the left and right eye suchas by operating a left eye LED array and a right eye LED array in asimilar manner (same brightness for each corresponding color LED emitteror bulb). The left eye light output has red, green, and blue light withthe three wavelengths used for these colors in the left eye light in theWMV-based 3D projection system while the right eye light output has red,green, and blue light with the three wavelengths used for these colorsin the right eye light in the WMV-based 3D projection system (e.g., withexactly the same wavelength and nothing or little other light or withlight falling within a tight band about the defined primary colorwavelength of the WMV-based projection system and corresponding viewer3D glasses). The method 200 may stop at 290 or continue at 220 with adetermination of whether user input has been received to modify thecontrol of the WMV light source (method of control).

If user input is received at 220, the method 200 continues at 240 withretrieving a lighting effect program from memory (or another devicelinked to the controller) based on the user input. Then, at 250, thecontroller generates a set of control signals to operate the WMV lightsource to carry out the lighting effect program such as by operating thecomponents of the light source independently or incombination/concurrently to achieve a desired show or set lightingoutput with light having at least one of the primary color wavelengthsin the definition retrieved at step 210. In the LED array implantationof a light source, for example, the lighting effect program may define atime sequence for alternating between all right eye light (with thethree primary color wavelengths of the WMV-based 3D projection system)and all left eye light (with the three primary color wavelengths of theWMV-based 3D projection system). The lighting effect program may instead(or additionally) define balancing levels for outputting the variouscolors to each eye (e.g., more red and less blue levels but equal levelsto each eye, differing levels of certain colors to each eye, and so on).The method 200 may then end at 290 or continues at 220 with waiting foradditional user input to modify the control of the WMV light source.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a WMV light source 300operating to output show or set lighting 340 that is suited for aparticular WMV technology or for use with a particular design ofWMV-based 3D glasses/filters. The WMV light source 300 makes use of red,green, and blue LEDs to provide the show or set light 340 with red lightmatching the red light of a WMV projector(s) with two arrays of threeLED emitters or bulbs (i.e., two sets of RGB LED emitters or bulbs),with green light matching the green light of the WMV projector(s), andwith blue light matching the blue light of the WMV projector(s).

Particularly, the light source 300 includes a housing 310 that is usedto support a left eye light array (or assembly) 320 and a right eyelight array (or assembly) 330. The left eye light array 320 includes ared LED emitter (one or more LEDs or LED bulbs) 322, a green LED emitter(one or more LEDs or LED bulbs) 324, and a blue LED emitter (one or moreLEDs or LED bulbs) 326. The red LED emitter 322 is configured to betuned and/or controlled to output red light 323 with a wavelength equalto the wavelength of the red light used to provide left eye light in theWMV projector(s) or a small band about the defined WMV wavelength forred, left eye light. The green LED emitter 324 is configured to be tunedand/or controlled to output green light 325 with a wavelength equal tothe wavelength of the green light used to provide left eye in the WMVprojector(s) or a small band about such a primary color wavelength. Theblue LED emitter 326 is configured to be tuned and/or controlled tooutput blue light 327 with a wavelength equal to the wavelength of theblue light used to provide left eye light in the WMV projector(s) or asmall band about such a primary color wavelength. Together, the coloredlight 323, 325, 327 from the LED array 320 provides the left eye lightused to illuminate a show or attraction set, and this colored light 329when reflected from surfaces in the physical environment (show orattraction set) is visible (or transmitted) through the left eye lens orfilters of WMV-based 3D glasses suited for use with the WMVprojector(s).

Similarly, the right eye light array 330 includes a red LED emitter (oneor more LEDs or LED bulbs) 332, a green LED emitter (one or more LEDs orLED bulbs) 334, and a blue LED emitter (one or more LEDs or LED bulbs)336. The red LED emitter 332 is configured to be tuned and/or controlledto output red light 333 with a wavelength equal to the wavelength of thered light used to provide right eye light with the WMV projector(s) or asmall band about the defined WMV wavelength for red, right eye light.The green LED emitter 334 is configured to be tuned and/or controlled tooutput green light 335 with a wavelength equal to the wavelength of thegreen light used to provide right eye in the WMV projector(s) or a smallband about such a primary color wavelength. Similarly, the blue LEDemitter 336 is configured to be tuned and/or controlled to output bluelight 337 with a wavelength equal to the wavelength of the blue lightused to provide right eye light in the WMV projector(s) or a small bandabout such a primary color wavelength. Together, the colored light 333,335, 337 from the LED array 330 provides the right eye light used toilluminate a show or attraction set, and this colored light 339 whenreflected from surfaces in the physical environment (show or attractionset) is visible (or transmitted) through the right eye lens or filtersof WMV-based 3D glasses suited for use with the WMV projector(s). Thecombination of the left eye light 329 with the right eye light 339 fromthe two LED arrays 320, 330 produces the show or set light 340 that issuited for use with WMV-based 3D glasses that also can be used with theparticular WMV-based projector(s).

As discussed above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the light sources ofthe present description may be operated in a variety of states (e.g., inresponse to control signals from a controller) to achieve a variety ofspecial effects or to obtain a desired illumination of a physical set orstereo environment. FIG. 3 illustrates one such operating state, andFIGS. 4A-4C illustrate the WMV light source 300A, 300B, and 300C inthree additional and different operating states.

In FIG. 4A, the WMV light source 300A is operating such that the lefteye array 320 and right eye array 420 are operated in similar fashionwith a subset of the LED emitters illuminated and the same subset ineach array 320, 420. Particularly, there may be some applications whereit is desirable to provide monochromatic coloring or illumination ofobjects in a physical set or stereo environment. The example provide inFIG. 4A is the source 300A operating to output left eye green light 325concurrently with outputting right eye green light 335 to provide showor set lighting 460 that is wholly green that is equally visible(balanced to match) by a viewer's left and right eyes via left and rightlenses/filters of WMV-based 3D glasses paired to the WMV light source300A (e.g., with identical primary color wavelength filters as outputsof light arrays 320, 330). The level of light or illumination (range oflumens or the like) provided by each LED emitter or bulb 324, 334 may beequal as shown or may differ by some desired amount to achieve a desiredeffect.

In other cases not shown but readily understood in view of FIG. 4A,different subsets of the emitters 322, 324, 326, 332, 334, 336 may beused to provide the show or set light such as the followingcombinations: (a) left eye red emitter 322 with right eye red emitter332; (b) left eye blue emitter 326 with right eye blue emitter 336; (c)both red emitters 322, 332 with both green emitters 324, 334; (d) bothred emitters 322, 332 with both blue emitters 326, 336; and (e) bothgreen emitters 324, 334 with both blue emitters 326, 336. Again, theleft and eye LED emitters in each array 320, 330 may be operated (ortuned) to provide the same or very similar amounts or levels ofillumination while in other cases it may be useful to intentionallyprovide more or less illumination to one eye (e.g., both red LEDemitters 322, 332 operating concurrently but at two differentillumination levels). The combinations of LED emitter combinations isnearly limitless and the independent operation of each colored LEDemitter allows a wide range of subsets to be utilized to suit theartistic design of a 3D display system.

In FIG. 4B, the WMV light source 300B is operating such that only theleft eye array 320 is operating with the right eye array 330 beingturned off or down low. All or a subset of the colored LED emitters 322,324, 326 of the array 320 may be concurrently operated, while in othercases, the right eye array 330 may be operated while the left lightarray 320 is turned off or down to low illumination levels. Further, theoperation of the two arrays 320, 330 may be alternated over time withone on and one off and vice versa in an alternating pattern to achieve adesired effect. As shown in FIG. 4B, the three colored LED emitters 322,324, 326 are operated to provide equal levels of illumination(quantities of red light 323, green light 325, and blue light 326) toproduce the show or set lighting 470 to illuminate surfaces of objectsin a physical set or stereo environment. In other cases, theillumination levels for the three emitters 322, 324, and 326 may differfrom each other (or at least one may differ with a lower or higherillumination setting provided by a controller of the light source 300B)to achieve a desired illumination effect.

In FIG. 4C, the WMV light source 300C is operating such that both theleft and right eye arrays 320, 330 are concurrently being operated. Incontrast to operations shown in FIG. 3, though, the LED emitters aretuned to provide balance in illumination levels/amount between the leftand right eyes of a viewer but differing amounts of each color. This canbe seen in FIG. 4C with the left eye red LED 322 providing red light 423of a particular wavelength and illumination level and with right eye redLED 332 providing red light 433 of another wavelength (as discussedthroughout this description, the wavelengths are chosen to match (or atleast overlap) with the primary wavelengths of the WMV technology usedfor a 3D projector in the display system in which the light source 300Cis implemented) and an illumination level matching (or within anoverlapping range) that of the left eye red LED 322. Further, the lefteye green LED 324 provides green light 425 of a particular wavelengthand illumination level (differing from the emitters 322, 332) and withright eye green LED 334 providing green light 435 of another wavelengthand an illumination level matching (or within an overlapping range) thatof the left eye green LED 324. Concurrently, the left eye blue LED 326provides green light 427 of a particular wavelength and illuminationlevel (differing from the emitters 322, 332 and the emitters 324, 334)and with right eye blue LED 336 providing green light 437 of anotherwavelength and an illumination level matching (or within an overlappingrange) that of the left eye blue LED 326. The combination of these LEDoutputs provides the show or set lighting 480 of the WMV light source300C in this operating state, and FIG. 4C shows how independentoperation of the LEDs or LED emitters allows balancing of the variouscolors provided by the source 300C to avoid artifacts associated withuse of more conventional LED lighting assemblies with WMV-based 3Dglasses.

FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary 3D display system 500 of thepresent description. As shown, the system 500 includes a physical set505 that may include a number of 2D and/or 3D objects to be illuminatedthat will be viewed by a viewer wearing WMV-based 3D glasses with aparticular wavelength recipe or set of definitions for the primary colorwavelengths (e.g., matching that of a projector(s) implementing a typeof WMV technology). The system 500 also includes a WMV light source 510with one or more light or light emitters 512 (e.g., a halogen light(s),LEDs, lasers, or the like) that output light 514. To ensure that thelight 514 is matched to a particular WMV projector and correspondingWMV-based 3D glasses, the WMV light source 510 also includes a filterassembly 516 that is configured to filter the output light 514 toproduce light 518 with primary color light with wavelengths matching theparticular WMV technology. To this end, the filter assembly 516 mayinclude dichroic filters (e.g., a left eye filter and a right eyefilter) that filter the light 514 to provide left and right eye light518 with a desired set of wavelengths.

In one particular implementation, the lights 512 may take the form ofthe two arrays 320, 330 of LED emitters as shown in FIG. 3. In thiscase, it may be useful for the filter assembly 516 to include a separatefilter for each of the LED emitters 322, 324, 326, 332, 334, and 336 soas to produce colored light in the show or set light 518 that is ofdesired wavelengths (i.e., wavelengths that match the six wavelengthsdefined for a particular WMV projector and its paired WMV-based 3Dglasses). This may be desirable in some cases because typical LEDs/LEDemitters may be difficult to tune/control to provide only theWMV-defined wavelengths. For example, an LED that is designed andmanufactured to provide light at a particular wavelength (e.g., 637 nm)may provide light with a range of wavelengths (e.g., 630 to 644), and aspecially selected and designed filter (e.g., a dichroic filter or acomb filter) can be provided with this LED to ensure that only (ormostly (e.g., 90 to 100 percent) light at 637 nm is output from thisLED/LED emitter. Similar, filters can be provide for each of the six LEDemitters to cause each LED emitter to only (or mostly) light at each ofthe six primary color wavelengths of the particular WMV technology beprovided by the light source. The use of a filter assembly may also bedesirable so that lights other than LEDs can be used to provide lights512 such as halogen and other readily available lights.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with a certaindegree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosurehas been made only by way of example, and that numerous changes in thecombination and arrangement of parts can be resorted to by those skilledin the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention,as hereinafter claimed.

For example, the term “light source” is not intended to be limited toLEDs or LED emitters but may include nearly any light-producingcomponents such as lasers, quantum dots, and broader spectrum lightbulbs/devices. For example, a laser module or laser-based light enginemay be useful (alone or with LED emitters) because some of thewavelengths that may be desired to make a WMV effect or “trick” work maynot be common to or available with an LED emitter. In addition, thereare newer model theatrical lighting instruments that utilize laser diodemodules as their light engines, and these may be utilized separately orwith one or more LEDs to provide the “light source” or light engine ofthe present description.

Further, the LED lighting fixture may be chosen to supply full spectrumlight combined with the finely-tuned notch filters described herein. Forexample, a first or left laser projector may provide light (red, green,and blue) at wavelengths of 464 nm, 547 nm, and 657 nm and a second orright laser projector may provide light (red, green, and blue) atwavelengths of 445 nm, 525 nm, and 637 nm. A full spectrum LED lightingfixture may provide a bandwidth of, for example, blue (455 to 465 nm),which covers both eyes provided by the projectors so one can illuminatea surface and not have holes in the color.

We claim:
 1. A display system for illuminating surfaces of objects for aviewer in a viewing space wearing 3D glasses or headgear passing lightassociated with a first set of three wavelengths to a left eye andpassing light with a second set of three wavelengths differing from thefirst set of three wavelengths, comprising: a wavelength multiplexvisualization (WMV) projection system projecting light having the firstand second sets of three wavelengths to provide the viewer stereocontent via the 3D glasses or headgear; and a WMV light source providingcolored light for illuminating the surfaces of the objects for theviewer to observe through the 3D glasses or headgear, wherein thecolored light comprises light at a wavelength matching one or morewavelength in the first and second sets of three wavelengths.
 2. Thedisplay system of claim 1, wherein the WMV light source comprises atleast one of a laser module and six light emitting diode (LED) emitterseach operable to provide light at a differing one of the first andsecond sets of three wavelengths.
 3. The display system of claim 2,wherein the WMV light source further comprises a controller providingcontrol signals to independently operate each of the LED emitters. 4.The display system of claim 3, wherein the controller operates the WMVlight source to selectively operate the LED emitters to provide lightassociated with only one of the first set of three wavelengths and thesecond set of three wavelengths.
 5. The display system of claim 2,wherein a left eye array of three of the six LED emitters provides lefteye light at the first set of three wavelengths and a right eye array ofthree of the six LED emitters provides right eye light at the second setof three wavelengths.
 6. The display system of claim 5, wherein thefirst eye light and the second eye light are balanced to include equallevels of red light, equal levels of green light, and equal levels bluelight.
 7. The display system of claim 6, wherein the levels of the redlight differ from at least one of the levels of the green light andlevels of the blue light.
 8. The display system of claim 1, wherein theWMV light source further comprises a filter associated with each of thesix LEDs filtering the light provided by the LEDs to only output lightat a wavelength matching one of the first and second sets of threewavelengths.
 9. The display system of claim 1, wherein the wavelengthmatching one or more wavelength in the first and second sets of threewavelengths falls in a range of plus or minus 2 nanometers from one ofthe first and second sets of three wavelengths.
 10. A display system foran amusement park ride following a ride path, comprising: along a firstlength of the ride path, a 3D projection system projecting stereocontent including left eye imagery with red light at a first wavelength,green light at a second wavelength, and blue light at a third wavelengthand further including right eye imagery with red light at a fourthwavelength differing from the first wavelength, green light at a fifthwavelength differing from the second wavelength, and blue light at asixth wavelength differing from the third wavelength; along a secondlength of the ride path, a physical set; and a light source adapted forilluminating the physical set with lighting comprising red light at thefirst wavelength, green light at the second wavelength, blue light atthe third wavelength, red light at the fourth wavelength, green light atthe fifth wavelength, and blue light at the sixth wavelength.
 11. Thedisplay system of claim 10, wherein the light source includes at leastone of a laser module and LED emitters, wherein each of the LED emittersis configured for generating light at one of the first, second, third,fourth, fifth, and sixth wavelengths.
 12. The display system of claim11, further comprising a controller for independently operating the LEDemitters to generate the physical set lighting.
 13. The display systemof claim 11, wherein the light source further comprises a filter foreach of the LED emitters whereby each of the LED emitters only outputslight at the associated one of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth,and sixth wavelengths.
 14. The display system of claim 10, wherein thephysical set light includes substantially equal amounts of light at thefirst and fourth wavelengths, substantially equal amounts of light atthe second and fifth wavelengths, and substantially equal amounts oflight at the third and sixth wavelengths.
 15. A method of illuminating aphysical set, comprising: first providing show lighting comprising firstlight with light matching at least one wavelength defined in a set ofleft eye wavelengths for a WMV projection system; and second providingshow lighting comprising second light with light matching at least onewavelength defined in a set of right eye wavelengths for the WMVprojection system.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first lightand the second light include equal amounts of red, green, and bluelight.
 17. The method of claim 15, where the set of left eye wavelengthscomprises a first wavelength in the red spectrum, a first wavelength inthe green spectrum, and a first wavelength in the blue spectrum and theset of right eye wavelengths comprises a second wavelength in the redspectrum differing from the first wavelength in the red spectrum, asecond wavelength in the green spectrum differing from the firstwavelength in the green spectrum, and a second wavelength in the bluespectrum differing from the first wavelength in the blue spectrum. 18.The method of claim 15, wherein the first providing step is performed bya first array of LED emitters each adapted to output light matching onewavelength in the set of left eye wavelengths and the second providingstep is performed by a second array of LED emitters each adapted tooutput light matching one wavelength in the set of right eyewavelengths.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the first and secondproviding steps are performed concurrently.
 20. The method of claim 15,wherein the first and second providing steps are performed sequentially.